


Not Quite As Planned

by vix_spes



Series: Incremental [16]
Category: Spooks | MI-5
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-12-14 20:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11790501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vix_spes/pseuds/vix_spes
Summary: This wasn't how Adam had expected his weekend to end.





	Not Quite As Planned

**Author's Note:**

> Written because I needed to make a fictional character go through (sort of) what I have in the last couple of weeks. Only difference is, I don't have Adam Carter (I wish I did!)

“Shit, shit, shit.” Adam cursed as he heard the voicemail from the hospital and he pressed his foot down on the accelerator, pushing the car to the limits. He didn’t care how many speeding tickets he got, he just needed to get back to London as quickly as possible. Cursing under his breath, he dialled the number that the ward sister had left and held his breath as the phone rang.

_“St Mary’s Ward, Gina speaking.”_

“Hi! My name’s Adam Carter, my partner was apparently brought in for surgery a couple of days ago? I’ve been in Cornwall with no signal and I’ve only just picked up your message. His name’s Lucas North. Can you give me an update on his condition? I should be on the paperwork as his next of kin.”

_“You are but I’m sorry Mr Carter, we discharged Mr North yesterday morning.”_

“WHAT?!” Adam only just managed to avoid doing an emergency stop at the nurse’s words. “What do you mean that you discharged him? Your message implied that he’d had relatively major surgery; why would you release him after only a couple of days?”

_“Mr North was doing well. The surgeon had seen him and was happy with his progress, the nursing staff had got him mobilised and Mr North assured us that he was happy dealing with the drains. We discharged him with several days’ worth of Tramadol as well as the rest of his prescriptions.”_

“SHIT!” Adam slammed his fist against the steering wheel. This was sounding worse and worse by the second. Pressing down with his foot, he pushed the car as far as it would go. “Sorry, that wasn’t directed at you. Thank you for your help, Gina. I’m afraid to say we may be meeting in a few hours.”

Hanging up the phone, a litany of curses fell from Adam’s lips as his mind conjured all of the things that could have happened to Lucas since he’d been released from hospital. One thing he knew for certain was that Lucas wouldn’t have taken any of the painkillers that he’d been sent home with. Lucas wasn’t fond of painkillers at the best of times but he really didn’t like Tramadol; he suffered from a whole raft of side-effects and would rather live with the pain rather than put up with the constant nausea, muscle aches, headache and tiredness that came with the pills. They’d also discovered that Lucas was increasingly susceptible to his depression returning with Tramadol so they tended to make do with Ibruprofen.

With the motorway whizzing past, Adam’s mind was working just as fast. He couldn’t believe what had happened in just three days. Adam had gone down to Cornwall to spend some time with Wes and his in-laws, something that Lucas hadn’t been invited to. Whilst Wes had taken to Lucas as his dad’s new romantic partner with far more alacrity than either Lucas or Adam had expected, the same couldn’t be said about Adam’s former in-law’s and, in all honesty, Adam wasn’t surprised. As such and in hopes of maintaining cordial relations, when they had taken their grandson to Cornwall for a fortnight, Adam had readily agreed to going down to spend a weekend with them in the middle of the trip. He hadn’t been too enthused about leaving Lucas behind but Lucas had assured Adam that he was doing the right thing as far as Wes was concerned. One thing was for certain though, Adam definitely wouldn’t have gone to Cornwall if he’d known what was going to happen.

(~*~)

It was the early hours of the morning when Adam pulled the car to a screeching halt outside the flat that Lucas had occupied since he had returned to the UK. Adam hated this place, hated that Lucas lived here and it frustrated him no end that Lucas insisted on living here. it wasn’t as though Lucas couldn’t afford somewhere better with his MI5 salary, yet he seemed to insist that he didn’t deserve better than this grotty little place with black mould growing in the bathroom and paint peeling off the walls. In an ideal world, Lucas would live with him, but Adam treading a fine line between not alienating Wes and not scaring Lucas off and he had a feeling that even broaching the subject would have Lucas running a mile. No, slow and steady was the way to go with Lucas. At least Lucas had given him a key which made things easier.

He had taken the stairs three at a time (because of course the lift was broken – again) and hesitated for a second outside the front door, prevaricating over what to do. It was entirely possible that Lucas was absolutely fine and was, in fact, sleeping soundly given that it was nearly two in the morning. Then again, it was equally possible that something had gone wrong and that Lucas was lying awake in agony because he was a stubborn bastard and refused to either take his painkillers or call someone for help. The decision was taken out of Adam’s hands when he heard a muffled thud followed by a series of curses in Russian.

Using his key, Adam let himself in and started searching the – admittedly tiny – flat. He didn’t have to go far. He had issues opening the bathroom door and, when he finally did get it open, he found Lucas sprawled on the floor, white-faced and groaning. Dropping to his knees, Adam did his best to ignore the drains filled with bloody fluid that he could see poking out from the loose-fitting boxers and t-shirt that Lucas was wearing and propped him up against Adam’s shoulder.

“Why didn’t you tell me what was happening, you idiot? I’d never have stayed in Cornwall if I’d known.”

“Well this wasn’t exactly what I had planned for my weekend. Besides, I know how much you’ve been looking forward to spending time with Wes and I had no intention of ruining that.”

“I’m fairly certain that this counts as extenuating circumstances. When are you going to learn that as much as I love Wes, I love you equally? Come on, we’re going back to the hospital and, if they decide that you don’t need to be admitted, you’re coming back to mine. You’re certainly not staying here.”

“What’s wrong with here?” Lucas’ tone was both defensive and tight with pain.

“Lucas, in the nicest possible way, you live in a dump and it’s really not conductive to a swift recovery. And, much as I love you, I don’t trust you to phone me if the same thing happens again. Please, if the hospital agree that you don’t have to be admitted, will you agree to come home with me? I don’t know, let me wait on you hand and foot and feed you tempting morsels from M&S?”

“Well. When you put it like that, how’s a man to resist?” Lucas chuckled and then winced in pain, flinging an arm out and groping for Adam. “Come on then, take me to the hospital.”

“Thought you were never going to ask.”

(~*~)

By the time that the hands on the clock ticked round to seven am, Adam had Lucas tucked up in Adam’s bed, buried in blankets, propped up on pillows and, finally, sleeping peacefully. When they had arrived at the hospital, Gina had been expecting them and had not only phoned Lucas’ surgeon but had ushered them straight into a treatment room. Adam had stood leaning against the wall, fingers clenching at his side and lips compressed in a thin line as he watched Lucas being prodded and poked, answering the questions directed towards him somewhat recalcitrantly. Adam himself settled for dropping Wes a text, knowing that his son would appreciate the update when he woke up.

They hadn’t been kept long; the surgeon had pronounced that it was a simple stitch abscess with the dissolvable stitches having a few issues doing what they were supposed to. Apparently, they just had to keep it clean and it would sort itself out within a week or two but, if they had any issues or worries, all they had to do was go in and the nurses would be more than happy to check things over. Lucas had glared mutinously at Adam when he had informed them that Lucas didn’t deal well with the Tramadol and other similar strong opoid painkillers but some of his tension seemed to disappear when they agreed to prescribe some maximum strength Ibruprofen. Much to Lucas’ displeasure, he was required to keep the drains in for another couple of days, at least until the surgeon was happy with the levels and Adam had been handed his mobile number so that he could keep the man appraised.

“Adam?”

Adam looked over at the bed, to where a somewhat sleepy looking Lucas was staring at him. “Hmm? Shouldn’t you still be sleeping? I thought those painkillers would knock you out for a while given the night that you’ve had.”

“Bloody drains are a sodding nightmare, I can’t get comfy. What are you doing?”

“Just keeping Wes updated and then I was going to nip to the shops. The Simply Food opened about half an hour ago; I was going to see if I could pick up a few things that could tempt you into eating later.”

“Can I tempt you into bed now and then you go and do battle with the old grannies and yummy mummies in M&S later?”

Adam rolled his eyes and huffed a laugh but pulled his clothes off until he was just in his boxers and climbed into bed, gingerly tucking himself around Lucas so that he didn’t nudge the drains by accident. “Only you could manage this, you know. I thought you said you weren’t doing much this weekend?”

A distinct grumble came from Lucas. “This was hardly how I wanted to spend my weekend you know; none of this was exactly planned.” There was a pause before Lucas spoke again, “I’m sorry I dragged you away from Wes.”

“Nonsense. Besides, he’s already angling for a second holiday with both of us to make up for it. You just have to focus on getting better.”

“In which case, I think you should go to M&S now.”

“Is that so? I’ve just got in bed and you’re kicking me out. I’m feeling the love, North. What do you need from Marks and Sparks so desperately?”

“Cake.”

“Cake? Lucas, I may not be a trained nurse but I’m fairly certain that cake isn’t a requirement for recuperation.”

“It is for mine. Copious quantities of M&S Victoria sponge cake. Oh yeah, and the head of section D to cater to my every whim.”

None of this might be what they had planned but Adam couldn’t help but be proud of Lucas vocalising what he wanted, even if it was disguised as a joke. He dropped a kiss to one exposed shoulder and then the corner of Lucas’ mouth. “Your wish is my command.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you would prefer to comment on DW, you can do so [here](http://vix-spes.dreamwidth.org/280331.html)


End file.
